Such comfort is found in Psalm 23. Every verse is filled with words that point toward the closeness and transcendence of God. David begins with the words, "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want." God himself, throughout Scripture, describes himself as the Good Shepherd and also the Lamb of God. God is both the Shepherd and the Sacrificial Lamb.

In Psalm 23, the emphasis lies on God being David's Shepherd, and this imagery, in a beautiful and poetic way, describes God's unchanging character, an aspect of God's character that relates to us today. In this world, I am food for wolves, prone to wander, at times lost, but God is my Shepherd. I recognize his voice when he calls. The sores around my neck remind me of the times that I aimlessly walked close to a cliff, and God took his staff and yanked away from the path to destruction. In his love and mercy, he disciplines. He speaks truth, and it hurts at times, yet a call to repentance from the Father of Truth is full of love. This is a genuine not fake, unlike the false love full of empty promises from the Father of Lies. I am a sheep; God is my Shepherd; who else should I want?

God protects, but he also leads. David continues by writing, "He makes me lie down in green pastures." Not in the wilderness, but in lush grass, he calls us to rest. Be fed. The Good Shepherd does not lead his sheep down the path of least resistance; rather, he cares by leading his sheep where they need to be led. As Israel left Egypt, they asked God, "Where are you leading us, to a land flowing with milk and honey, or to our deaths?" In their grumbling and faithlessness, that generation did not taste the fruit of the promised land. Do we act the same toward God? Do we grumble and live in a way that minimizes God's goodness and magnifies our unmet needs, whether rational or irrational? The Creator of both body and soul understands our deepest needs more than we can ever know ourselves. In his grace, he invites us to come to him as children, as lost sheep, as sons and daughters of the Most High. Would this King lead his son or daughter beside a rushing river where, in one misstep, they would be swept away? God tests us not in this way; rather, he allows us to endure hardship that we may draw closer to him. When this world is stripped away, our true lives exposed, we receive comfort in how God, in a way that we may not expect, satisfies our basic needs but also restores what no human can physically touch—our souls.

This leads to a question: Can man restore a soul? Can we nourish our own souls? Brother Lawrence says it this way: "We nourish ourselves by seeing God in his exaltation; we will desire a great joy at being his." Nourishment comes from beholding God, the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. We feast when we commune, not in isolation. The strength for today is not found in the assurance of tomorrow; rather, it is found in a day spent in communion with God. A day of righteous deeds is not to lift our names on high. For the sake of the LORD's name, he leads us in paths of righteousness. When a day is dark, when we turn to sin, when we walk in the valley of the shadow of death, whom do we fear? Do we fear ourselves for turning against God? Do we fear the Devil? Do we fear the wrath of God? We should bow in worship, in fear-like reverence to the One who can heal the dead, all death, and defeat all evil. The path may seem dark, but in Christ, fear has no hold on us.

To describe fleeing fear and finding victory in Christ, let's return to the psalm. David describes finding comfort in God's rod and his staff. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth. The Word corrects us when we wander and silences the enemy. As we walk in faith, he guides us in ways of life. The rod and staff are tools of discipline and protection, an extension of the Father's hand. God could use someone in my life to tell me that I am being foolish in my ways and that I should return to him. Right now, one of the biggest enemies in my life feels like myself. My flesh gets in the way of what the Spirit is prompting. I want to love the Lord with a pure heart and not just in a heart of repentance of my self-worship. But the Lord is near and working. In this next half of the psalm, we will look into dining in the house of the Lord, how, and why we are able to sit with the King of kings. As a sheep of the Shepherd, we have the opportunity to experience joy in every day, every hour, and every minute, knowing that he is walking beside us.

Psalm 23:1-4 - ESV The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

We nourish ourselves by seeing God in his exaltation; we will desire a great joy at being his. -Brother Lawrence